November Dorkbot CBR x 2

This month we are very lucky to have not one, but two special guests on Skype for Dorkbot CBR!

On Tuesday 5th November, media artist Jo Tito will join us to talk about a number of her artistic projects. Jo had a key role at SCANZ2013 as a cultural guide, sharing with the residents her knowledge of culture and of the Taranaki area, her home.

A couple of weeks later, on Tuesday 26 November, we will be joined by Melanie Cheung, another SCANZ2013 participant. Melanie is a neuroscientist committed to exploring Indigenous and Western scientific approaches and will be talking to us about electricity and creativity in the brain.

Abstract for talk
Jo’s work utilises a range of media including photography, video and painting to explore her passion for life and love and caring for the earth. At Dorkbot we will talk about some of Jo’s recent works, including her “Rock a day project” and her new mandala series.

Biography: Who Am I?

I am a Māori woman indigenous to Aotearoa NZ who is passionate about life and love and bringing about change in the world. I love to write and paint and take photographs. I love to be outside in nature experiencing the elements; the sun the rain and the stars but I also love to be inside snuggled up in a blanket in front of an open fire watching a good documentary or movie!

I love to help people be their best, to help them find who THEY are and share who they are with the world.

I have experienced many things and traveled to many lands where I have felt the spirit of the people and the land, but here in Aotearoa is where I feel most at home. I am currently living on the East Coast of the North Island although my heart is with my mountains: Tarawera, Matawhaura and Taranaki who move through me and remind me of where I come from and of my ancestors who have gone before me.

But I am also this person; my own person outside of where I come from and where I have been and what I have done in my life, I am this person who is constantly searching for who I am, delving into what it is that my heart desires and trying to understand where I fit into the scheme of things and how I can help in the world.

So here I am, I am here ever experiencing the present moment because in my quest to achieve and be something into the future I have found and learnt that the power is right here in the present moment and so I be here, right here, right now. This is who I am until next time…http://jotito-artist.comhttp://facebook.com/artistinnature

Melanie Cheung

Abstract for talk
The brain is a fascinating organ that allows us to make sense of the world. As it turns out the brain uses electrochemical signals to do this. Melanie’s talk will discuss some ideas about electricity and creativity in the brain.

Biography
Dr Melanie Cheung (Ngāti Rangitihi, Te Arawa) is committed to exploring both Indigenous and Western scientific paradigms to help Māori and Indigenous people with neurodegenerative diseases. Over the past 5 years Melanie and her research team have worked closely with a large Taranaki Māori family that have Huntington’s disease, a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disease that affects movement, personality, and higher cognitive functions. Their current research projects together include: (1) Developing a model of mutually beneficial partnership between Māori families and biomedical scientists/clinicians; (2) A Photovoice Research Project highlighting the Taranaki families’ wellbeing practices; (3) Clinical and Translational Huntington’s disease research. Dr Cheung’s other scientific research projects have included: Validating a transgenic songbird model of Huntington’s disease (with Rockefeller University); The isolation and culturing of 19 novel primary human cell culture models of brain disease; Using Indigenous values and practices in scientific practice, with specific focus on developing culturally respectful laboratory practices for working with human tissue. This research has been featured internationally in Science (2007, 318:907) and ABC’s award winning All in the mind radio show (3 May, 2008). Melanie has also worked extensively on culturally-responsive science education for Māori and Pasifika students studying biology. She currently works alongside Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith as the academic coordinator of MAI ki Waikato, a Māori capability program which facilitates the academic, professional and cultural development of 71 Māori and Indigenous doctoral students at Waikato University.

Melanie has worked throughout USA, Hawaii and Australia. She undertook research as a visiting scholar at both the Nottebohm Laboratory, Rockefeller University in New York and the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute, University of Washington in Seattle. She has also been a visiting lecturer at School of Education, University of Hawai’i in Hilo and School of Indigenous Australian Studies, James Cook University in Cairns, Australia. In 2014 she will undertake a Fulbright Fellowship with Professor Michael Merzenich at the Brain Plasticity Institute in San Francisco.